[Boost-users] Regex failing to match postcodes

From: James Gunn (james.gunn_at_[hidden])
Date: 2004-06-14 04:00:55

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Hi all,

I'm having some difficulty getting my regular expression working.
Basically, I need to make sure that a UK postcode is valid. 
The postcode that is passed to my function sometimes has extra things with
it such as:

Wakefield, WF1 3RD
Shrewsbury SY2 5PT Shropshire

It now seems to be failing to find the postcode in the above examples.
Also, when I pass my function a postcode that I know is invalid, such as JG2
7L5 it matches it as G2 7L5 instead of failing to do the match.

The regular expression I'm using is below:

(?:(?:(^|\s)+
A[BL]|B[ABDHLNRST]?| C[ABFHMORTVW]|D[ADEGHLNTY]|E[CHNX]?|F[KY]|G[LUY]?|
H[ADGPRSUX]|I[GMPV]|JE|K[ATWY]|L[ADELNSU]?|M[EKL]?|
N[EGNPRW]?|O[LX]|P[AEHLOR]|R[GHM]|S[AEGKLMNOPRSTWY]?|
T[0ADFNQRSW]|UB|W[ACDFNRSV]?|YO|ZE)
\d(?:\d|[A-Z])?\s+\d[A-Z]{2}($|\s)+)

Can anyone tell me whats wrong with my expression? 
BTW I'm using boost 1.31.0 on VC++ 7.1, Windows XP.

James Gunn
Software Developer
--LongSig

Computer Bureau
Communisis DM
Manston Lane
Crossgates
Leeds
LS15 8AH

Telephone [phone]
Fax       [phone]
Email     James.Gunn_at_[hidden]

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